


Like Home

by haku23



Category: Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: First Time, M/M, No beta we die like Leila, Only Slightly Angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haku23/pseuds/haku23
Summary: After the victory over Lloyd and Linus, Legault and Heath contemplate the future and whether they will be together in it.Also, they bang.
Relationships: Heath/Legault (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





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**Author's Note:**

> Um. Hi lol. Here I am, with another actually 3 year old fic I had 3/4s of the way written but abandoned because I wanted to write porn for the last part but unfortunately the mood strikes me only once per year so it had to Wait. Also includes wyvern related headcanons because Why Not.

“Did you know them?” Heath asks, hovering a little closer than usual.

“They were original Black Fang, and the boss’ kids,” that ought to say enough but he continues, “I knew them well.”

“Forgive me. You looked,” Heath glances to the empty sky then Legault, “you seem sad.”

If he knew getting close to Heath would give him insight into his emotions he might have hesitated before doing so, but the deed is done now. He meets his eyes, “yeah.”

They stand in silence, Heath’s shoulder a whisper away from touching his, as the rest of the camp prepares to eat a celebratory meal. The lord, Eliwood, takes no pleasure in bloodshed but the rest cotton to eating, drinking, and being merry quite easily.

“You won’t eat?”

“With them?” he laughs once, “no.”

Heath nods, humming his agreement. He has few words, or at least few words for Legault, and heads off towards the dining tent leaving him standing in the shadows alone. Not exactly an unfamiliar place for him to be.

He sighs. Good guys. Lloyd and Linus had been good guys, once. Not by a knight’s approximation, no, but to those who they held close, to their brothers and sisters. But they’d been fools after all. No sense of preservation, arms wound tight around the husk of something that hasn’t existed in a long time. And Brendan; well, Lloyd and Linus got it from somewhere.

Footsteps break him from his melancholy, Heath slowly makes his way over despite being overburdened by plates and taking each step carefully. He crosses the distance between them quickly and takes the plate nestled against Heath’s elbow.

“After this you might have a future in the circus.”

“A Wyvern Knight needs at least decent balance,” he smiles at him for a second making him look almost boyish in contrast to his usual sombre self, “I thought you might be hungry, regardless of. Everything.”

The meal is simple-potatoes, meat, carrots-but it manages to awaken hunger in his stomach anyway.

“But not as hungry as you,” he nods at the second plate in Heath’s hands.

“Oh. For Nino.”

“Well aren’t you chivalrous, trying to get into my good books?”

He shakes his head as if the thought never crossed his mind, “she seems. Small for a girl her age, I thought.”

“You really are a knight, aren’t you? She’s asleep, but I’m sure she’ll have an appetite when she wakes.”

“Will she be okay?”

“Mm, maybe not my good books you’re trying to get into,” he smiles but something curls in his stomach. Not jealousy; protectiveness, maybe. A skilled girl like Nino is sure to have plenty of suitors, and there will be plenty of time for it-once Legault takes his leave.

“No, I have interest in someone else.”

“Oh? And who’s the lucky girl?”

Heath stares at him, confusion plain on his face, “I.”

“Kidding, who else could it be?” he puffs up for a moment, letting Heath relax for half a second before saying, “the Lady Lyndis, of course.”

“Wh-No,” realization dawns on him and he frowns, “knave.”

“Not her? Hm, who’s your type... Someone delicate, maybe, Priscilla then.”

“I have a mind to take that food back.”

“You’re welcome to try,” he leans back against the crates just outside of Nino’s tent and digs into the food. The first bite fans the flames of his hunger and he shovels the food into his mouth with little dignity.

Heath glances around them once, twice, before settling beside him again, setting the extra plate of food beside them. He eats with more care, but then Legault supposes they teach fancy table manners to knights; the Black Fang had more concern with making sure there was food to eat at all.

“What will you do after this?”

“Me? I told you, friendship amongst fugitives. Unless you’ve plans elsewhere.”

“Commander Vaida will return to Bern,” he stares at a carrot as if it holds a secret.

“That’s suicide. Do you plan on joining her?”

Heath sighs, “I am undecided.”

“It’d be a waste, a good man like you dying.”

“In their eyes it would be justice.”

“Suppose so,” he sets the plate aside, food half-finished now that his appetite runs screaming for the hills again.

“If she goes alone, what does that say about me? Can I call myself a man if I continue avoiding the noose?”

“Your death would serve nothing, nor hers,” he leans close, though Heath’s plate blocks him, “and besides, you’d deprive me of a beautiful face and that in itself is a crime.”

The joke does nothing to clear the serious expression from his face, nor the thoughts plain on it. None of them appear to involve Legault, though.

“Lighten up, the war’s not over yet. Plenty of time to brood on life and death.”

“Mm,” he looks to sky and holds the position this time, pausing in his eating entirely as if deep thought overrides all sense of hunger or anything else. He cuts a handsome figure, even with the outline of his profile fuzzy from the low light, and Legault contents himself with looking at him. Might be best to commit the sight to memory now, in case a later doesn’t come.

The gazing draws his attention soon enough, and then his face is hidden entirely in shadow, not even the light of the rising moon reaching them here. “Where would we go?”

“Hm? Oh. Suppose we go North.”

“Why North?”

He shrugs, “why not? Far from both of our mutual enemies.”

“You truly have no plan, then.”

“Well, not entirely.”

“Why not East to Etruria?” he suggests, and Legault tips his head to the side in ascent.

“I’ve no quarrel with Etruria. Whether or not they have one with me, however, is quite another tale.”

“It may be a better place for Nino. The Marquis has considerable skill with magic; it has somewhat kept Bern at bay.”

He nods, and Heath’s hand grips his shoulder, “you do not intend upon abandoning her?”

The words stick in his throat-Abandoning is a strong word. The road with one, possibly two people running from powerful enemies is no place for a child; even worse a place for a child like Nino. His silence says enough, though, and Heath’s grip tightens.

“She is your niece, is she not?”

He twists out of his hold and takes a step back, “If you’ve a mind to take her, Heath, be my guest. Be certain to teach her proper manners.”

“I see.”

“Do you? It’s fairly dark out,” he forces a laugh from his lungs and takes another step away, “thanks for the food. I ought to check on her.”

Heath grunts, and the crunch of his fading footsteps sting like a slap. He brings the plate into Nino’s tent and sets it by her bedroll. Cried herself to sleep-she might do the same for him, but better that than bring her along. Her hand curls against her chest, clenched into a tight fist, and he takes a breath before he heads back to his own tent. Better to pull back now.

~~**~~

The Commander rises every morning at the same time and walks to the spot near their wyverns that they go through their training. She doesn’t seek him out if he fails to show up; but she always has a specific, chastising stare for him the next time they happen to meet up. This morning is luckily one they arrive at the makeshift paddock at the same time.

The sun is barely lightening the horizon, the grass still holds dew, and the air is slightly chilled. Only the Caelin and Pharaen knights rise so early, but as of yet they do not do drills together. He sees them gathered in the distance but they’re far enough away that he can’t hear their conversation though he sees their lips moving.

Commander Vaida doesn’t speak before they launch into their own routine; by now they both know it well enough that words aren’t needed and Bern puts little emphasis on conversation beyond what is needed. Between the fourth and fifth repetition they pause. He wipes his wet bangs back with his hands while her eyes sweep from his toes to his head. He stop to straighten his back and she reaches out. She pulls back her hand with something pinched between her thumb and forefinger, her eyebrow raised.

“You know how to maintain your armour?”

He realizes what she picked off of him-a long, pale strand of hair that can’t belong to anyone else but Legault. She stares at him, face blank and he blanches. A hair doesn’t mean much, but he and Legault have been less than discreet about their friendship. A hair means little, but he knows that she knows about it all. He just nods, short and to the point.

“And your training. You’ve been keeping up, I can tell. You’ve never been a slacker.”

“Yes, Commander.”

She lets the hair fall, “good. Keep yourself maintained, do you understand?”

“Yes, Commander, I-“

“The next words out your mouth better not be ‘I need a longer break’,” she says. She grins, and he breathes out. The excuses on his tongue retreat.

“Of course not, Commander.”

\--

His hair is still wet from washing and clinging to his neck when he hears footfalls behind him. He spins on his heel, ready to face his foe- Nino looks up at him.

“Nino. Um. Hello,” he says and drops his shoulders, gets proper footing on the dirt trail, “I didn’t see you there.”

“Uncle Legault told me that you brought me food,” she says. Her cheeks are red, and when he nods her eyes turn glassy. Her lower lip wobbles, “that was really nice of you. Thank you.”

“Yes, of course, it was my pleasure,” he glances from her, to their surroundings. The time of day means that no one is really around, or at least no one close, and while he isn’t dressed indecently she doesn’t have a chaperon in sight. “Are you out here by yourself?”

She nods and wipes her nose, “I was taking a walk and I saw you but I guess I should have…”

“It’s alright,” he says before she can continue. Legault said her mother was cruel; he sees no need to carry on in her footsteps, “I only mean it’s dangerous; you could fall, or get lost. If you would allow me I would escort you wherever you need to go.”

“How come?”

“Well. Well. I. You see, it’s-I’m.”

She smiles, and he lets go of some of the fear that she might burst into tears in front of him, “oh, it’s because you’re a knight, isn’t it?”

“Right.”

“Uncle Legault said you ride a wyvern, do you really?”

He follows her lead and starts walking, and nods, “I do.”

“What’s it like? Back home we had people sometimes who rode them, but I wasn’t allowed to meet them. Are they scary? What do they eat? Are they like Pegasi? Florina has a Pegasus and she lets me brush her sometimes. Do wyverns have hair? How do you clean them?”

He opens his mouth, then realizes he can barely recall half of the questions with how quickly they’d been delivered. But at least she doesn’t look like she’ll cry for the moment. He points in the direction of the paddock, “if you’d like to meet him I can introduce you, but wyverns are very unlike Pegasi.”

“You’d let me meet him?” her voice takes on a slight wobble and he nods, and picks up his pace only slightly.

“If you’d like, I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

She grins and nods and he might well regret the offer but so long as she doesn’t cry it ought to be alright.

“What’s his name?” she asks, a spring in her step that makes him think distinctly of Legault when he’s being deliberately misleading. Nino though only smiles and looks up at him with interested eyes.

“Hyperion.”

“What’s that mean? Did you name him?”

“He’s named after a character in a book I read. I thought it fitting, but most choose not to give their wyverns names. They can be quite picky about what they’re called.”

Hyperion and Umbriel hear him before they’re close enough to see and he hears the guttural cry of them both. “They think I’m coming to feed them,” he smiles and explains to Nino who keeps lifting herself up onto her tip toes to try to catch a glimpse of them.

“Oh! Because there’s that lady’s wyvern too! What’s their name?”

“Commander Vaida’s is named Umbriel.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I’ve never asked.”

“How come?” she asks as they finally reach the open paddock where the wyverns wait, chained in place. She waves at them and he doesn’t try to dissuade her-after meeting a Pegasus he supposes she might be predetermined to doing such things.

“Well, she’s my Commander. It wouldn’t be polite.”

“How come?”

“That’s. Just how it is.”

She nods, her face serious as though she understands fully. Umbriel snaps at him when he goes to the gate, his hand held out to stop Nino from following, and Hyperion snaps at her. He sighs and whistles, catching their attention before it turns into a fight. He picks up the lance leaned against the fence.

“Behave, both of you.”

Hyperion cranes his neck forward and nudges him hard, in search of some kind of snack that Heath hasn’t brought, and nearly knocks him off his feet. Umbriel is similarly demanding, her teeth bared in anticipation of a bite that he interrupts with a whack with the wooden hilt of the lance. She snorts out a breath and Nino gasps.

“You hit them?”

“Oh. Oh, no, don’t worry. Their scales are very strong, it’s like-“ he stops. Her brothers are _dead_ he can’t use that example. “like a bug bite to you. It’s more just-“

“That’s not very nice.”

He turns to her and she gives him the most pitiful looking face he’s ever seen. Guilt descends upon him like, well, a wyvern. “Umbriel is very. She’s not very friendly. Pegasi are more willing to work with humans, but wyverns… You kind of have to show them you’re in charge.”

“You hit Hyperion?” she asks and looks between him and his mount. Her hands are pulled tight against her chest and she blinks quickly.

“No! No, Hyperion is-see, he and I are bonded so he’s automatically more friendly towards me than anyone else but Umbriel is-“ his explanation is interrupted by Umbriel seizing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him backwards into the dirt. He has half a second to think “oh no” before Hyperion moves, transforming into a snarling, snapping beast that frankly even Heath wouldn’t want to be on the business end of. The two of them lash out over top of him and he has to roll to the side, barely dodging Umbriel’s foot that stomps into the dirt.

When he manages to scramble to his feet he glances to where Nino stands. She’s staring, wide eyed and he almost _wants_ to let Umbriel eat him at this point. But that won’t help. He squares his shoulders and gives Umbriel a wide berth. The space between both beasts is large enough to keep them from killing one another when they get particularly ornery, and so he only needs to free Hyperion and move him further away.

He uses the lance to unhook the ring from a distance then makes a quick dash to jump up onto his mount’s back. Despite wanting to continue the fight he listens to Heath’s command to rise into the air, and land on the other side of the fence. Nino doesn’t move, and so he doesn’t need her to stay still. Umbriel still snarls and pulls on the heavy chain holding her but it holds fast. He drops to the ground again and pulls the reins down before he steps into Hyperion’s line of sight to block the other wyvern from view. He stares at Heath a moment before he nudges him with his snout.

“I’m alright,” he says and smooths his hand over the ridges at the side of his face, “you’re both in trouble, though.”

Nino hasn’t moved from the fence. He can only imagine what she’ll tell Legault. Not that it matters, as Legault has been avoiding him for the past two days. Or perhaps, more accurately, they’ve been avoiding one another. And his hair had _still_ managed to hold on to him.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and turns to Nino, “I shouldn’t have turned my back on her.”

“She’s. Kinda mean,” Nino mumbles, and takes a few quick side steps away from where Umbriel continues her temper tantrum.

“I don’t disagree,” he offers a smile, though his heart still pounds, until he spots the Commander striding towards them and it drops from his face, “um. Nino, you should head to your tent.”

“How come-oh,” she shrinks back and he barely has time to look at her before the Commander is upon them.

“What in the 9 hells are you doing over here, Heath? Human sacrifice?” she snarls in a pretty good imitation of her wyvern who, now that she sees Vaida, takes on the air of an innocent. Nino doesn’t move, but she stares at the ground and Heath snaps to attention as she comes up so close he can nearly count her eyelashes. Hyperion doesn’t move, but Heath feels the rumble of his growl against his back.

“Nothing, Commander. Just a minor disagreement,” he says into the air above her shoulder.

She narrows her eyes at him, then Nino, then both wyverns, “and you thought bringing a _child_ around two beasts was a good idea?”

“I made a foolish mistake, ma’am.”

“H-He’s just trying to-“

“Shush.”

“Commander-“

The dam breaks. Nino sobs once and Vaida steps back and stares at her, then Heath. She crosses the distance between her and Nino and kneels despite how Nino shrinks away.

“Why are you crying?”

“I-I-“

“Commander.”

She holds up a hand and addresses Nino again, though her voice is no gentler, “Tell me, even if it’s my fault.”

“I-you’re-your wyvern was gonna eat him and he only wanted to make me feel better and it’s my fault cause I said it was mean to hit them and then.”

“Alright. Sit down.”

Nino complies immediately-Heath knows the feeling-and the Commander turns to him. “I want the whole story. Try to keep from crying.”

“Yes ma’am. I looked away for a second to explain something, it was foolish. They only started fighting because of my own stupidity; you know how Hyperion is.”

She huffs. Too soft; she always said it about them both. “So that brute’s to blame then.”

“Well. I shouldn’t have-“

“Have a backbone,” she snaps. He lowers his head slightly.

“She. Certainly didn’t help matters, no.”

“I’ll take care of it. Go back to your petting zoo,” she barks and he doesn’t have to be told twice. He gathers Nino, and leads her and Hyperion further away. She’ll not want to see the method of reminding wyverns of their place, and Heath doesn’t like it in particular either.

She stumbles a few times, but she only makes quiet whimpers as they walk towards the treeline. Not far enough to be dangerous, but far enough that Hyperion is huffing breaths and flicking his tongue out to smell the unfamiliar air. Even without the chains holding him Hyperion doesn’t wander when Heath drops the reins to make sure he hasn’t traumatised Nino any further than she’s already been. He could fly off, out across the forest and never return, his embarrassment runs so deep. He should have just brought her back to Legault, or Florina, or anyone who wasn’t him. He sighs.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault,” she says and smiles. It’s sad, and kind of makes his chest hurt at how she still tries. He sets his hand on her shoulder lightly, ready to pull away at the slightest hint that she wants him to.

“You shouldn’t be so quick to blame yourself.”

She shakes her head and rubs at her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, and he struggles to find words to continue.

“Ah. Legault seems very fond of you.”

“You’re going to run away with us, right?” she says and brightens at the thought of it. He shrugs. It hardly seems an appropriate conversation to have with her without Legault around, damn him.

“I have yet to decide,” he pulls away and sits. She follows suit a second later, and curls her fingers in the grass but doesn’t tear it up.

“How come?”

“It’s. Complicated.”

“Cause you and Uncle Legault can’t get married? I don’t mind. I’ll be good and not say anything,” she tells him, earnest in a way that makes him want to tell her about the conversation the other night. It’s not his place, and things might yet change. And he doesn’t want to make her cry again. He sighs.

“No. Not that. And you shouldn’t say anything here, either, please.”

“It’s okay, Uncle Legault already told me not to say anything. But I don’t think it’s very fair that you can’t tell anyone. Isn’t love supposed to be a good thing?” she asks and he can’t tell her either that he doesn’t know that it’s _love_. A heavy dose of lust, perhaps. But that’s hardly proper to talk to a lady about, nevermind a child.

He doesn’t say anything and she leans closer, her own sadness apparently forgotten for the moment.

“You do love Uncle Legault, right? He loves you. If you don’t-you’ll break his heart!”

“I-“

“My heart is made of stronger stuff than that, Nino,” Legault says from behind him. He leaps forward with a shout and Hyperion leans over to inspect him.

“You’ll kill me that way!” he clutches at his heart and Legault laughs.

“A shame. I heard you’ve been setting wyverns loose.”

“It was all my-“

“It was certainly not. It was a misunderstanding. This camp is full of gossips,” Heath says immediately. Legault gives a barely there nod. 

“Hm. You alright, Nino?”

“Wyverns aren’t like Pegasi at all,” she says and he laughs.

“True enough. I think Rebecca was looking for you; she even spoke to _me_ to ask after you.”

“Oh no. We were supposed to cook dinner together tonight. Did she look angry?”

Legault is soft around Nino like Heath feels around Hyperion-it’s a strange thing to notice, perhaps stranger on his part because Hyperion isn’t a child. As Nino gets to her feet Legault meets his gaze with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“I don’t think Rebecca is the getting angry type, but why don’t you go see her anyway? I’m sure she’s worried about you.”

Legault doesn’t require a chaperon for her-and he supposes with how she carries her tome with her everywhere she might not need one. It still isn’t proper, but the Black Fang, former or not, doesn’t seem preoccupied with what is proper.

They both watch her until she disappears over the hill, and then turn to one another.

“I’m sorry,” Heath says at once.

Legault shakes his head with a soft chuckle, “and here I was just about to say the same.”

“I mean, for the other day.”

“I know what you mean.”

Hyperion nudges him and eyes Legault-he makes no bones about his wariness towards him, though he no longer tries to take chunks out of him when he gets close to Heath. Silence hangs in the air between them and Legault runs a hand through his hair.

“Look, I don’t want there to be. You’re a nice guy, Heath.”

“So are you. I take it you would like me to stay away from Nino.”

“What? No. Elimine. I,” he coughs. The scar on his face bunches the skin of his cheek as he grimaces, “I don’t know how to take care of a kid, Heath.”

He says nothing-and Legault doesn’t continue. He looks scattered, his bandanna drooping slightly, his collar more than slightly eschew, and the usual bags beneath his eyes more pronounced. He reaches out and pulls, straightening the collar slightly even as Legault stares at him. 

“You uh. Collar was.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

He’s remiss to let go of him now that he has him in his grip and so he doesn’t, awkward as it might be. “When I first. After.”

“Relax, you don’t have to say anything to me.”

“I tried to send Hyperion home. Before.”

“Oh?” Legault doesn’t move away from him, just lets him stand there close enough that he can feel the warmth radiating from him. Legault runs hot-Heath, cold, they’re perfectly opposite in that regard as well.

“I understand. About Nino. But you’re wrong-the best place for her is somewhere familiar, we could keep her safe between us both.”

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

“You can’t just,” he takes a breath to calm the way his blood starts to boil then continues, quieter, “you can’t just make people care for you and then disappear. Especially not a child.”

“Especially because she’s a child she can’t come with me. You understand?” his voice is even toned to Heath’s heated one, and he meets his eyes with the sort of empty expression that he’s seen only in men resigned to their fates.

“Where will she go?”

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t act like you don’t care, I don’t believe it.”

“Then you don’t know me that well, because it’s not an act.”

He’d thought they were on the way to being back to the way they were, and yet here he had to go and open his mouth. Hyperion shoves his face between the two of them and he has to let go of Legault’s shirt so that he doesn’t pull him off his feet.

“Then what do you think about me? A pleasant distraction?”

“Hm. Not so pleasant right now.”

He pulls Hyperion’s head to the side and stares at him. Or perhaps it’s more of a glare by how Legault reacts. “You must think of me as a fool if you think I don’t see what you’re doing. Pulling away. So you don’t get hurt.”

“Just because Nino says I love you doesn’t mean it’s true, Heath. If that’s how things worked the world would be a lot different.”

“The fact that you’re still standing here says enough. So what do I have to say to you?”

“To what? Make me go away?”

He sighs loudly and Legault doesn’t walk away even when he takes hold of his collar again and shoves their foreheads together so hard that it makes an audible noise. “No. To make you stay. I know, I’m not the best lover, but-”

“I. What?”

“I shouldn’t have run off the other night. Not after everything that happened. I’m sorry.”

“You really are a knight, aren’t you?” he asks, his hands finally coming up to rest on Heath’s chest, “forget about it. Let’s worry about what we’ll do about Nino when the time comes, all right?”

“We.”

“If you still want to come with me that is.”

“I don’t make a habit of being in the embrace of men I have no intention of staying with.”

“You call this being in an embrace? And here I thought I’d thoroughly rid you of your innocence. Well. Plenty of time to do a more thorough job,” he murmurs.

When his lips come to rest against Legault’s it takes only a second for him to respond. Not to push him away, but to pull him closer. His hands and mouth are like an unexpected gust of wind pulling him ever deeper out into uncharted sky except it isn’t fear that thrums in Heath’s chest. Legault’s fingers find a spot behind his ear that startles a gasp from him and he feels him smile against his lips.

“We should save this for later,” Legault says into the scant space between their mouths.

“Yes,” he agrees, but kisses him again. It’s been nearly a year since he’s drank anything that might lower his inhibitions, yet this reminds him of being drunk anyway. He can barely peel his eyes open to meet Legault’s half closed ones.

“Oh you are dangerous, aren’t you?” Legault asks, and steps back. His tongue slides over his bottom lip and draws Heath’s eyes there once again, “we’ll continue this conversation tonight, what do you think?”

It would be improper to grab him and drag him back to him, and so he stays his hand and nods, “agreed.”

Legault groans, “I’m going, before I do something rash and uncomfortable for a man of my age.”

He manages to laugh at the joke, and watches Legault stride quickly up and away. Beside him, Hyperion huffs. “I know, I know. Keep myself maintained.”

\--

The night is cool, but not cold, as he steps out of his tent. Commander Vaida is out, which is the only reason that he manages to slip away without the raise of one of her eyebrows. Though perhaps he gives her too much grief; it’s more likely she will say nothing at all, however just the knowledge of her having eyes on him is enough to have him feeling ashamed of himself. A hold over from childhood, no doubt. He had been sitting about with his nose in a book back then of course, not meeting up with Legault for a tryst.

Despite the late hour the rest of the camp is far from quiet. He hears the sounds of boisterous men in the dining tent, and the din of conversations from illuminated tents near his own as he heads down towards the river. The moon hides behind the clouds and his eyes search for something else hiding there too but comes away with nothing to show for his paranoia.

Not unusual for a man to wander about at night and so he gets no odd looks from even the Caelin knights tasked with standing guard, if he can call it such the way Kent and Sain’s focus remains moreso on their bickering than anything else.

The babbling of the river is loud, but not loud enough that he can’t still hear faint sounds from the camp. He doesn’t see Legault, but then he can’t see much with how dark it is. He stands near to where they had met earlier; the closeness to the wyvern pen is the only thing that he’s able to use as a landmark, but it seems as though Legault has no such difficulties.

“Evening,” he says, appearing from the dark, “it’s me.”

Despite knowing it, he startles anyway and Legault reaches out for him. In contrast to the cool air his hand is warm, the usual leather and cloth has been done away with so he can feel the entire length of his palm.

“I would hope so.”

“Mm, well, I don’t just drag myself out of a warm bed for anyone Heath,” Legault answers, “though. I can think of something else that can warm me up.”

“You are shameless.”

“And yet here you are.”

He can’t argue with that. It’s only a moment before Legault’s hand moves from his chest up to his neck and he chuckles when Heath gasps just the same as before. He feels his face heat, but Legault only rubs his thumb over the spot.

“You’ve never done this before, have you?”

“I hardly see how that matters,” he replies and feels Legault’s breath against his cheek.

“It doesn’t, just trying to make sure I ruin you for everyone else in that case.”

He grunts an affirmative and Legault’s lips press against the side of his mouth.

“Alright, no need to fret.”

There had been little time for such things back in Bern, and less so after he had deserted. One day he might have met a woman and married her, but he can’t imagine it now. It doesn’t bother him, somehow.

The tip of Legault’s nose is cold against his face, but the hand that slides downwards leaves a hot trail down his torso. “A shame I can’t see your face much, I’d like to.”

He swallows, and Legault kisses him. He tastes of mint, and the scent of leather oil is heavy on him as though he had come directly from maintaining his equipment. The thought is nearly enough to bring the Commander’s words back to the forefront of his mind, but Legault’s hand palms him over his pants and thought leaves him quickly.

“You’ll have to be a lot quieter than that if you don’t want to be found out, dearest,” Legault murmurs, and Heath realizes he’d made a noise far louder than intended.

“Apologies.”

“None needed, maybe lie down. The river might cover it up better that way.”

The grass is frigid on his back and he shivers even when Legault drops down next to him.

“It really is colder than I thought. Your tent?”

“Commander Vaida is out, so far as I know. And yours?”

“Ah… Nino. Also quite close to the lordlings and I would hate to ruin their image of you,” Legault answers. Despite it, his hand finds Heath again. “You’ve never even…?”

“Of course I-. What is.”

“Just trying to set the mood. Or would you like me to get on with it?” he squeezes firmly and Heath groans.

“Just hurry up.”

“Oh, impatient. One day I’ll take my time but far be it from me to deny a request,” Legault says. His voice is infuriatingly teasing, even as he rubs at him through his breeches.

It’s nothing like the times he had taken himself in hand imagining something vague and just satisfying enough to get things finished. Legault’s mouth is on his neck, hot and intent upon finding every spot that makes him shiver. He keeps his sounds behind his teeth, but still he hears them and Legault’s answering ones that are only half words pressed into his skin like bruises.

“Tell me I can touch you,” his voice is rough and it only makes the heat in him burn hotter. 

This may be some kind of torture, Legault’s mouth and hand still even as Heath’s hips rise to goad him on. “Knave.”

“Oh, even when you’re angry with me it sounds good.”

“Did I not-please, cease your teasing.”

Legault shudders, he can feel him against his side, “knightly even now, hm? Alright.”

He recoils when Legault unties his breeches and cool air creeps against his skin, but it’s forgotten a second later when his spit slicked hand is around his cock. This too, is different, better somehow. He feels Legault’s body against his side and the way his breaths puff quicker against his jaw when Heath winds his fingers into his hair. His thumb swipes over the head of his cock and his noise is loud enough that even the river can’t cover it.

“Does it feel good?” Legault asks, his lips parting to scrape his teeth over Heath’s neck.

Despite the darkness he can feel his smirk and yet it makes him moan instead of feeling his usual annoyance. Legault doesn’t stop his movements, pumping his hand along his cock as he sucks and bites at his neck in the spot that makes pleasure build to a maddening level. He teeters on the edge for only a second before the feeling crests and he cums in his hand.

“Shh, shh, you’ll have the knights on us in a moment,” Legault murmurs and kisses him as if it will quiet him any. He continues stroking him anyway, tongue licking into Heath’s open mouth until he stops making noise and manages to kiss him back between mouthfuls of air.

A second later Legault is on his lap and it seems as though despite the cool breeze neither of them is particularly cold any longer. His hair tickles Heath’s face but after the second time of trying to brush it away he leaves it there.

“I’ll just,” Legault says as he shoves his hand down his own pants, “I ah. Well.”

“Allow me.”

“No need.”

If Legault can see his frown he says nothing, caught up in his own pleasure as he is, but Heath continues, “It’s hardly fair otherwise.”

His laugh is a breathy one, “fair has nothing to do with such things. Keep talking.”

“Legault I,” he can think of nothing that would be appropriate at such a time. He settles upon placing his hands on his thighs instead, “I would like to see your face as well.”

What does he look like right now? Perched triumphant upon Heath’s stomach, his hand bringing himself off in front of him? He shivers, not from the cold, and Legault laughs again.

“Thinking about it? Here,” he says quietly and pulls one of Heath’s hands over top of his other one. It shocks him somewhat to find that he’s pulled himself out of his pants entirely, “help me out.”

Unlike Heath, Legault is silent but for the soft sounds his quickening breathing and the slide of skin on skin. Still, one of his hands drops to Heath’s chest and curls into the fabric of his shirt so tightly he feels the pull of it on the back of his neck. He’s hot even here, and it enters his mind for only a second that he has his hand on someone other than himself. The hazy moonlight illuminates them both for only a moment. Long enough to see Legault’s head tipped back, his mouth open as he pants, and their hands entwined as they stroke him together.

The moon once again hides behind the clouds and he misses the face Legault makes when he cums, but he hears the catch in his breath, and feels the rush of warmth against his fingers. He swears colourfully though at a whisper as he continues to stroke himself through his orgasm, until his noises sound nearly pained and Heath lets go.

He lands with a heavy thud on the grass beside him. “Well. Regretting things yet?”

“No,” he answers, and pulls him back to kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Legault's determination to abandon Nino is so heartbreaking to me lol like... please. She needs her uncle, you stupid idiot.. But I think at the end of the day he's a supremely guilty man who feels unworthy of love(but sex is probably a different story), which is what makes he and Heath together interesting, because Heath too seems to feel the same way about himself. So them both finding that home they don't think they deserve in one another, and taking in this child who has been mistreated and giving her and themselves a happy life is... very good to me. 
> 
> Bern strikes me as a kind of quite utilitarian place, and FE7 was still very much heavy on the "well I am not of noble blood and so we Cannot Fuck" kind of thing, so that was kind of how I wanted to present things; like, love has little place here and if you're not having the sex to have an heir why are you doing it lol. 
> 
> We know from Heath's supports with Vaida that she's pretty much like a mom to him because he started training with her really young. Even the rest of his squad isn't given much in the way of character, so I kind of took that as well to mean that they weren't especially close with him despite being on the same team. Of course fooling around sexually happened I'm sure lol but I can't imagine Vaida giving Heath much time for such things since ultimately her goal is to train him and the others which is why I figured he'd be kind of inexperienced compared to someone like Legault who seems more uhhh giving, in certain ways, of affection. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. :|b Even if I never write an epilogue know that the ending I intended was for them to at the end of the war get together and raise Nino together lol.


End file.
